| 翻訳と辞書 |
| Operation Ladbroke ： ウィキペディア英語版 |
Operation Ladbroke
Operation ''Ladbroke'' was a glider landing by British airborne troops during the Second World War near Syracuse, Sicily, that began on 9 July 1943 as part of the Allied invasion of the island. The first Allied mission using large numbers of the aircraft, the operation was carried out from Tunisia by glider infantry of the British 1st Airlanding Brigade, with a force of 136 Wacos and eight Horsas. The objective was to establish a large invasion force on the ground near the town of Syracuse, secure the Ponte Grande Bridge and ultimately take control of the city itself with its strategically vital docks, as a prelude to the full-scale invasion of Sicily.
En route to Sicily, sixty-five gliders released too early by the American and British towing aircraft crashed into the sea, drowning approximately 252 men. Of the remainder, only eighty-seven men arrived at the Pont Grande Bridge, although they successfully captured the bridge and held it beyond the time they were to be relieved. Finally, with their ammunition expended and only fifteen soldiers remaining unwounded, the Allied troops surrendered to Italian forces. The Italians, having gained control of the bridge, sought to destroy the structure, but were frustrated by soldiers of 1st Brigade who had removed the previously attached explosive charges. Other troops from the airlanding brigade, who had landed elsewhere in Sicily aided further by destroying communications links and capturing gun batteries.
==Background==
By December 1942, with Allied forces advancing through Tunisia, the North African Campaign was coming to a close; with victory there imminent, discussions began among the Allies regarding the nature of their next objective.〔Warren, p. 21〕 Many Americans argued for an immediate invasion of France, while the British, as well as U.S. Army General Dwight D. Eisenhower,〔Eisenhower, p. 159〕 argued that the island of Sardinia was the best subsequent target of the Allied troops.〔 In January 1943 the British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt settled at the Casablanca conference on the island of Sicily,〔 whose invasion and occupation could potentially provide the Allies with Mediterranean shipping routes and airfields nearer to mainland Italy and Germany.〔Eisenhower, p. 60〕 The codename Operation''Husky'' was decided upon for the invasion, and planning began in February. Initially the British Eighth Army, under the command of General Bernard L. Montgomery, were to land on the south-eastern corner of the island and advance north to the port of Syracuse. Two days later the United States Seventh Army, commanded by Lieutenant General George S. Patton, would land on the western corner of the island and move towards the port of Palermo.〔
In March it was decided that the U.S. 82nd Airborne Division and the British 1st Airborne Division would be dropped by parachute and glider just prior to the amphibious landings; they would land a few miles behind the beaches and neutralize their defenders, thereby aiding the landing of the Allied ground forces.〔〔Huston, p. 155〕 However, in early May these directives were radically changed at the insistence of General Montgomery; he argued that with Allied forces landing separately at either end of the island, the defending Axis forces would have the opportunity to defeat each Allied Army in turn before both could unite.〔 Instead, the plans were altered to land both the Eighth and Seventh Armies simultaneously along a stretch of coastline on Sicily's south-eastern corner.〔Harclerode, p. 275〕 At the same time, the plans for the two airborne divisions were also adjusted; Montgomery believed that the airborne troops should be landed near Syracuse, so that they could seize the valuable port. The 82nd Airborne Division commander Maxwell D. Taylor, further asserted that dropping behind the island's beaches and overcoming its defences was not a suitable mission for the airborne troops, as they were only lightly armed and vulnerable to the 'friendly fire' of the planned Allied naval bombardment.〔Warren, p. 22〕 In the revised blueprint for the airborne divisions, a reinforced regimental combat team from the 82nd Airborne Division would be dropped by parachute north-east of the port of Gela to block the movement of Axis reserves towards the Allied beachheads.〔 The 1st Airborne Division was now to conduct three brigade-size airborne operations: the Ponte Grande road bridge south of Syracuse was to be captured by the 1st Airlanding Brigade, the port of Augusta was to be seized by 2nd Parachute Brigade, and finally the Primasole Bridge over the River Simeto was to be taken and secured by the 1st Parachute Brigade.〔Harclerode, p. 256〕
抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』
■ウィキペディアで「Operation Ladbroke」の詳細全文を読む
スポンサード リンク
| 翻訳と辞書 : 翻訳のためのインターネットリソース |
Copyright(C) kotoba.ne.jp 1997-2016. All Rights Reserved.
|
|